Friends
by Lollipop456
Summary: A two-shot. After Linguini does not return home from a date with Colette, Remy goes to search for him and finds him beaten. This little rat, however, is about to prove that friendship matters more than size. Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

Remy watched as the clock's hands signaled 7: 00. His owner, Alfredo Linguini, had not arrived home yet and it was an hour past supper. Remy had prepared two bowls of Chestnut soup, which was Linguini's favorite; unfortunately, it had gotten cold thirty minutes ago. Remy climbed off the sofa where he was sitting and scurried off into the kitchen. Climbing onto the counter, he looked out the window, but saw no sign of Linguini anywhere. He had never been out this late with his fiancee Colette, because he tended to worry about leaving Remy alone for too long. However, now it was Remy's turn to worry, because he knew that Linguini would have been home by now.

"I guess I'd better look for him." Remy said to himself.

Pushing open the window, Remy climbed onto the ledge outside and then down the drainpipe which led him to the ground level. It was getting dark, but Remy had lived in sewers and holes for so long that he learned not to fear it when he was still a tiny rat pup. He made his way down the streets of Paris, looking for any sign of Linguini. Remy remembered that Linguini told Colette that they would be going to a cinema on a certain street; it was only when he saw the street sign that Remy realized it was the street.

As he walked along the street, he passed the cinema, but saw Colette was standing in the parking lot by her motorcycle. Panicked, Remy ran up to her and tug at her pant leg.

Colette looked down. "Little Chef! What are you doing out of the apartment?"

Remy looked down towards the ground, giving Colette a brief, shameful look. Colette could only smile and lowered her hand towards the ground, which Remy climbed onto.

"You were getting worried, weren't you?" Colette asked and Remy nodded. "Well, you had good reason; I just went to purchase the tickets and Alfredo was gone when I turned around. It's only been a few minutes and I was just about to look for him when you came along."

Remy pointed to Colette, then himself, and then made a splitting motion with his paw. Colette took a brief moment to consider what the rat could be suggesting, but then she realized what he wanted.

"Oui, it would be best if we split up to look for him." Colette sat Remy down on the ground. "You go right and I'll go left. If you find him, then come to me and vice versa. Do you understand, Little Chef?"

Remy nodded quickly and rushed off to search for his master. He peeked into every building, went down every alley, but found no sign of him. Feeling defeated, Remy slid against a brick wall and tried to ponder his surroundings. His thoughts were cut short, however, when he heard a painful moan echoing in the alley.

Remy shot up, knowing that moan belonged to Linguini. He ran down the darkened alley and followed the moaning, until he found a bloodied and bruised Linguini behind a large dumpster.

Remy gave a squeak which woke the unconscious Linguini. His purple, swollen eyes opened as best as they could, and Linguini gave his best, but painfully forced smile.

"Hey Little Chef." Linguini tried to sit up, but only crumpled onto the ground and gave another moan. "I-I was jumped by thugs."

Linguini lost conscious again, but Remy could see his chest rising and falling, which meant that he was still breathing. What could he do? Colette had told him to find her if he had found Linguini, but Remy couldn't very well leave Linguini the way that he was. No, he needed help now and Remy had to make sure he got it. After all, Linguini was his only friend and the only human that understood him.


	2. Chapter 2

Remy didn't know what to do. He couldn't leave Linguini alone, but he knew that he needed help and fast.

"Pocket...My pocket." Linguini mumbled.

Remy stared at Linguini for a moment, unsure of how to react. At this moment, Linguini was semi-concious and in a good deal of pain, and Remy wasn't certain if whether or not he was mentally able to focus. Nonetheless, Remy reached into Linguini's pocket as careful as possible, and was luckily able to find his cellphone.

After being able to dial 1-1-2, Remy held the phone close to Linguini's mouth so that he would be able to speak to the operator.

"This is Emergency services. May I assist you?" The operator said.

Linguini regained concious for a moment. "Help...Alley near cinema...Been beaten...Help me."

That was all Linguini was able to say as the pain took hold of him. He was clawing at the ground and his eyes were squeezed shut; Remy wanted to help with the pain, so he rested his paws on Linguini's right hand and squeezed it.

"Thanks, little Chef." Linguini said, his voice faint.

So, Remy held onto Linguini's hand, offering what comfort a little rat could supply. It took almost ten minutes for the ambulance to arrive, and two paramedics placed Linguini on a stretcher.

"A rat! He's probably infected the patient!" One of the paramedics remarked.

The second paramedic shooed Remy away from Linguini's side, and then helped his companion load Linguini into the ambulance. Remy, however, needed to be sure that his friend would be all right and chased after the ambulance.

The next morning, Linguini woke up and found himself in a hospital bed. He was incredibly sore and found his left arm was in a cast and that some areas were still swollen with bruises. Slowly, he looked towards the window and saw Remy perched on the sill.

"Hey there, Little Chef."

Remy climbed off the sill and onto the nightstand beside Linguini's bed. The little rat looked over his human friend and then gave him a look of concern.

"I just have a little pain. It could've been worse, I could have died after I was jumped. Thanks, Little Chef." Linguini slowly reached over and stroked the top of Remy's head.

At that moment, a nurse came into the room with a cart and tray. It didn't take her long to notice Remy and to let out a scream.

"Monsieur, there's a rat beside you! A horrible, giant rat!" The nurse shrieked.

Remy looked down at his body, and took a moment to consider if he was gaining weight. This thought was cut short when the nurse began to charge at him with a large knife.

"No, stop! Wait!" Linguini grabbed the nurse gently by the arm before she could attack Remy.

"Monsieur, are you insane? This is a rat. Who knows what diseases it's carried in from the sewer or the garbage. This is not something that should be anywhere near humans, especially hospital patients."

"Well actually, he goes to the vet monthly and grooms himself every day. I even brushed out his fur last week, and took him in to the vet for his rabies vaccination."

"You mean to say that this sewer rat is your pet?" The nurse asked, looking slightly appalled.

"He's not just a pet." Linguini looked over at Remy and smiled. "He's my friend." He turned back to the nurse. "Please, can he stay?"

The nurse sighed. "Monsieur, even if he is your pet. I cannot allow a rat in the hospital, it's against regu-"

"He saved my life. Shouldn't that count for something?"

The nurse paused for a moment, her face was stern; Remy was sure that she would toss him out of the window or come at him with the knife again. Instead, her expression softened and she nodded.

"Thanks alot." Linguini said.

"Not for long though. In an hour, he had better be on his way or I'll be in trouble." The nurse turned and left the room.

Remy looked up at Linguini, arching his eyebrow. The two had lived together an entire year and had learned how to understand what the other was thinking.

"I told her the truth: You are my friend. When I came back to Paris from Italy, I was worried that I'd be some sort of outcast and never fit in. You changed all that; you helped me be a great cook even when I was sent to kill you, you got me and Collette together, and you impressed France's most toughest food critic, saving me from becoming the laughingstock of all of Paris. And just last night, you saved my life...So then, how could you _not _be my friend?"

Remy smiled, but then became concerned again when Linguini began yawning.

"I'm fine, Little Chef. Just tired." Linguini yawned again and began to doze off.

Ten minutes later, Colette arrived at the hospital and went straight to Linguini's room. The sight she saw when she entered the room would have been unusual to some and even frightening to others. Colette, however, just smiled when she saw Linguini fast asleep and Remy resting on top of his shoulder.


End file.
